Status in Nebraska:
CWD has been found in western Nebraska as far east as Hall County.
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has been conducting voluntary tests
each year on deer harvested by hunters to determine the spread of the disease.
The tests began in the western part of the state; however they are done
statewide now. To date, over 15,000 deer have been tested, however
many of these deer are young deer because the process of removing the lymph
nodes can destroy the deer’s cape, preventing the hunter from being able
to have their trophy bucks mounted. The younger deer are less likely
to have the disease, so for the 2005 hunting season the Game and parks
is going to attempt to obtain the nodes of more mature deer as well by
trying to persuade the hunters to allow them to. If the disease is
detected in an area, regulations on deer hunting are loosened and hunters
are allowed to help control the population to prevent further spreading
of the disease.
Distribution:
It has been found in wild deer and/or elk in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska,
South Dakota, Wisconsin, Utah, New Mexico, Illinois, and Saskatchewan,
Canada. In captive deer and or elk, it has been found in Colorado, Montana,
South Dakota, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Saskatchewan,
and Alberta.
Origin:
It is thought to have originated in Colorado
Characteristics:
CWD is a neurological disease that occurs mostly in deer and elk, but
has recently been found in moose. CWD belongs to the family of diseases
known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). CWD is
a progressive, fatal, degenerative disease. Clinical signs in affected
animals include loss of body condition, behavioral changes, excessive salivation,
increased drinking and urination, depression, and eventual death. CWD is
always fatal. There is no known treatment, vaccine, or live animal test
for CWD.
Impacts:
The biggest impact that CWD has is that it will drastically reduce
the deer and elk populations in an area. It also causes concern among
hunters in areas that it first appears because the hunters are afraid that
they may catch the disease. In Nebraska, most hunters understand
that CWD can not be transmitted to humans and are not as concerned as they
used to be.
Management:
Extensive testing is being conducted in areas that are at risk for
CWD. It is diagnosed by taking samples from the Obex tissue of the
brain in deer and elk, however, the lymph nodes can be used to diagnose
it in deer as well. There is no way to directly control the spread
of CWD, but there are many indirect ways to control it. The most
common method is to eradicate the deer or elk from an area to wipe out
the disease or stop the spreading. Other preventative measures have
been taken also. For example in Nebraska, hunters are no longer allowed
to hunt over an area where bait has been placed to attract the deer.
By doing this, hunters are discouraged from placing out salt blocks and
feeders, causing the deer to congregate in one area, increasing the chances
of spreading the disease.
History:
CWD was first discovered in a deer at a research facility in Colorado
in 1967, and was found a few years later in Wyoming. It was determined
to be a TSE in 1978 in Wyoming. The first wild cases were found in
Colorado and Wyoming in the early 1980’s and the first Nebraska case was
discovered in Chase County, Nebraska in 2001.